From top. clockwise, Nelly Mukazayire (Sports), Godfrey Kabera (MINECOFIN Treasury, Rwego Ngarambe (Sports), Festus Bizimana (Amb. designate Senegal), Pascal Busabizwa (Amb. designate, Rep. Congo), Kayumba (CAR), Gen. Nzabamwita (Russia) and Dushimimana (The Netherlands) were among the key appointments announced Friday.
President Paul Kagame has dropped Eng. Richard Nyirishema as Sports Minister, barely five months into the job, replacing him with Nelly Mukazayire, who was Permanent Secretary in the same ministry, in a mini -cabinet reshuffle announced by Prime Minister, Dr. Edouard Ngirente, on Friday evening.
Mukazayire was appointed PS in MINISPORTS on September 11 this year. Before that she was the Deputy CEO of Rwanda Development Board (RDB). In the same spirit, the President of the Republic appointed youthful Rwego Ngarambe, Minister of State in the Ministry of Sports, in a move to reinforce the docket to drive the country’s sports development agenda.
Ngarambe holds a Master of Science in International Sports Law and has experience in sports business and governance. He is a passionate sports enthusiast and a member of Rwanda Basketball Federation (FERWABA).
Eng. Nyirishema was appointed Executive Chairperson of Rwanda Water Resources Board. President Kagame also appointed Godfrey Kabera, Minister of State in charge of the National Treasury, replacing Richard Tusabe.
In other appointments Festus Bizimana was proposed Ambassador of the Republic of Rwanda to the Republic of Senegal, replacing Jean Pierre Karabaranga, while Parfait Busabizwa was proposed to Rwanda’s Ambassador to the Republic of the Congo.
Bizimana previously served as a policy analyst at the U.S Embassy in Rwanda, before that as Director General in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation. He also served as vice president of the National Olympic Committee as well as the cycling federation FERWACY.
Prior to his appointment, Busabizwa was Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Youth and Culture and before that he served as Vice Mayor of the City of Kigali. Olivier Kayumba was proposed as Ambassador of the Republic of Rwanda to the Central African Republic (CAR). Previously, Kayumba served as Permanent Secretary in the former Ministry of Disaster Management (MIDMAR).
Among other prominent appointments, Maj Gen Joseph Nzabamwita, was proposed to be Rwanda’s Ambassador to the Russian Federation while Lambert Dushimimana, was appointed Ambassador-designated to the Kingdom of The Netherlands.
Gen. Nzabamwita was President Kagame’s Senior Security Advisor, since June this year, and before that he served as the Secretary General of the National Intelligence and Security Service (NISS). Previously he also served as Defence and Military Spokesperson of the Rwanda Defence Force (RDF), among other roles.
Until the end of November, Dushimimana was the Governor, Western Province and before that he served as Senator.
Amb Vincent Karega, who has served as Ambassador in different countries, including South Africa and DR Congo, was appointed Ambassador at Large in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation (MINAFFET) in charge of the Great Lakes Region while Francis Gatare was appointed Senior Advisor in the Office of the President.
Jean Claude Musabyimana was appointed Executive Secretary of the National Electoral Commission (NEC), replacing long-serving Charles Munyaneza , while François Régis Uwayezu, Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Sports, taking over from Mukazayire. Until November Uwayezu was the CEO of Tanzanian club Simba.
President Kagame appointed Brave Ngabo, Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Youth and Arts, replacing Busabizwa, while Ariane Zingiro, was appointed Head of National Development Planning and Research Department in MINECOFIN. Ngabo was the Executive Secretary of the Rwanda National Youth Council (NYC).
